None Of The Above
Draft week is upon us and the Cleveland Browns are on the clock, now, early, and often. It is a foregone conclusion that they will select one of the hyped QB quartet 1st overall, and some believe they possibly draft a 2nd QB at pick #4. That’s right, potentially 2 quarterbacks going to the same franchise within the first four picks of the draft. The Browns QB history is not fun so the need to nail this selection and find the face of the franchise for the next decade is paramount. Quarterback is the most important position in sports…they can’t mess this one up…again.
There is no consensus top guy this year. Everyone you read has varied opinions on Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, and Josh Rosen (and some will even tell you Lamar Jackson is the best of the bunch). You can find these four ranked every which way possible, with one expert raving about “their guy” and trashing another while the next article you read says the exact opposite. There is no Andrew Luck, Cam Newton, Matt Stafford type emerging from the group as a no brainer #1 pick.
Who should the Browns take? Which one of these QBs is the one to lead them to the promised land?
I say none of the above.
I know this will never happen and the odds of them leaving the draft with 2 QBs is greater than leaving with 0, but I can play “fantasy” GM with the best of ‘em, so hear me out.
Evaluating QBs Is Hard
45 times since the year 2000 a quarterback was selected in the first round of the NFL draft.
Here are the names of 25 of the 45:
Paxton Lynch / Johnny Manziel / Teddy Bridgewater / EJ Manuel / Robert Griffin III / Brandon Weeden / Jake Locker / Blaine Gabbert / Christian Ponder / Tim Tebow / Mark Sanchez / Josh Freeman / JaMarcus Russell / Brady Quinn / Vince Young / Matt Leinart / Jason Campbell / JP Losman / Byron Leftwich / Kyle Boller / Rex Grossman / David Carr / Joey Harrington / Patrick Ramsey / Chad Pennington
I’m in a good mood so I won’t even mention Ryan Tannehill, Blake Bortles, Jay Cutler, and Sam Bradford.
The Browns are looking at a hit rate of less than 50%! They are more likely to get this wrong than get it right. Clearly I am not the first one to realize this statistic and this is where the “take a QB at 1 AND 4” crowd comes in.
Have you heard the saying, ‘If you have 2 QBs you don’t have 1'?
Quenton Nelson & Bradley Chubb
There are two “can’t miss” types at the top of the draft this year. The Browns can have BOTH.
Nelson has been compared to Larry Allen and Steve Hutchinson (Go Blue!), the two best guards of the past 20 years. Sure, OG is not a sexy way to start your draft but if you told me that Nelson would be 75% the player that Larry Allen was, I would take that 1st or 4th overall and never look back.
Pass rusher is a little easier to swallow at the top of the draft as disrupting the pocket has emerged as a vital key to team success over the past handful of years. Greg Cossell, widely regarded as one of the best talent evaluators in the sport said, “I think Bradley Chubb has everything you want in a D-end”. Pair him opposite Myles Garrett and you enter the Watt/Clowney conversation as best bookends in the league.
How about building from the inside out? Wasn’t that a thing just a minute ago? Plug each one of these foundational talents into your lineup and don’t think about it again for another decade.
The Browns Are Built To Win Now
Yeah, I said it.
Josh Gordon and Corey Coleman out wide. Jarvis Landry in the slot. David Njoku over the middle. Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson in the backfield. The Browns now have one of the top five skill position units in the league. Playmakers at every single spot. Explosive.
They added E.J. Gaines and Damarious Randall to an already young and dynamic defensive backfield. This unit would be set up to make plays with Garrett and Chubb being a nightmare to opposing QBs.
Tyrod Taylor is good at football. He’s only 28yrs old, accurate, can extend and create plays with his legs, and throws a nice deep ball. With the offensive weaponry at his disposal, he will succeed.
This league moves fast and things flip quickly. There is no reason the Browns, if they’re smart and listen to my advice here, can’t make a playoff run THIS YEAR.
